Thursday

Here’s some good news for people who like “Good News for People Who Love Bad News,” the breakthrough album from Modest Mouse. Those quirky Issaquah, Washington’s indie rockers (now residing in Portland, Oregon) are coming to the area. Influenced by the likes of Pavement, the Pixies, XTC and Talking Heads, Modest Mouse’s singer-guitarist Isaac Brock is expected to bring an uncompromising blend of Pacific Northwest neurosis and pristine song craft to the masses, whether you want it or not.

The only jazz singer to have eight albums debut at the top of the Billboard Jazz Albums chart, Canadian chanteuse Diana Krall has also garnered five Grammy Awards, 10 Juno Awards and earned three platinum and seven multi-platinum albums. “A voice at once cool and sultry, wielded with a rhythmic sophistication” (according to the New York Times), Krall went to the Berklee College of Music in Boston on scholarship before dropping out. And, if that wasn’t cool enough, she’s married to Elvis Costello. Whether she is tickling the ivories or pulling at the heartstrings with her smoky contralto voice, Krall is a top-tier talent who can hold her own with Tony Bennett (as she proves on their glorious George and Ira Gershwin collaborative album, “Love Is Here to Stay”) while being able to command a stage on her own.

So long, farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, adieu, goodbye Yellow Brick Road.

Elton John, Oct. 6, TD Garden, Boston.

Sir Elton John has one of the most compelling, compassionate voices in the history of pop music. On top of that, his piano playing is stellar. And those classic ‘70s songs by longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin are spectacular. As part of his lengthy farewell world tour, the 71-year-old Captain Fantastic is going out with bang. Expect to hear “Bennie and the Jets,” “The Bitch Is Back,” “Candle in the Wind,” “Crocodile Rock,” “Daniel,” “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,” “Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” “Levon,” “Philadelphia Freedom,” “Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going to Be a Long, Long Time),” “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting,” “Someone Saved My Live Tonight,” “Tiny Dancer” and “Your Song” for starters. If you have never seen Sir Elton before, this show is a serious must.

In the air tonight

Phil Collins, Oct. 9, TD Garden.

Between 1982 and 1989, Phil Collins scored seven Number One singles as a soloist. Combined this with his work with Genesis and his guest-artist work, Collins had more Top 40 hits in the U.S. than any other artist during the ‘80s. He is also one of only two recording artists, along with Paul McCartney, who has sold over 100 million records worldwide both as a solo artist and as principal member of a band. Despite all this, music scribe Dave Marsh summed Collins up the best for me when he called the Genesis drummer-turned-singer and solo sensation “The Bob Uecker of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” Not only was I never too keen on Collins during his ‘80s heyday, I still have nightmares of working at Strawberries at 20 Front St., Worcester, when “No Jacket Required” was on the store’s playlists for months. I don’t fear hell when I die because I have already heard “One More Night” and “Sussudio” a thousand times.

Somebody’s been drinkin’

Cole Swindell and Dustin Lynch, Oct. 12, DCU Center, Worcester

If you’re a country music fan and need a reason to drink, I have the concert for you — Cole Swindell’s “Reason to Drink Tour,” with Dustin Lynch. A multi-platinum-selling, 10-time No. 1 hit-maker, Swindell is touring behind his latest “All of It Tour,” while Lynch, who enjoyed his fifth Number One with “Small Town Boy,” is doing the rounds with “Current Mood.” Also on the bill is “Doin’ Fine” singer Lauren Alaina.

Minding the Monster

Jeff Dunham, Oct. 17, DCU Center.

When Black Flag played on Oct. 22, 1984, at Ralph’s Chadwick Square, a very menacing (and very long haired and buffed) Henry Rollins erupted at Wormtown legend Captain P.J., who was waving a disgusting looking Muppet in Rollins’ face, “There are people who get their frustrations out through playing music and others that do it with puppets!” Fast-forward to Jeff Dunham and his “Passively Aggressive” tour. Described as “a dressed-down, more digestible version of Don Rickles with multiple personality disorder” (not sure if that is an insult or a compliment), Dunham brings his cast of colorful, off-colored and politically incorrect felt characters (including Walter, “Achmed the Dead Terrorist,” Bubba J and Peanut) to the DCU Center. Not only has this anti-Edgar Bergen singlehandedly brought the lost art of ventriloquism back to the mainstream, he made the Guinness Book of World Records for “Most tickets sold for a stand-up comedy tour.”

The Downward Spiral

Nine Inch Nails, Oct. 19 and 20, Boch Center Wang Theatre, Boston.

Not only is Trent Reznor rolling his “Pretty Hate Machine” into the Bay State, The Jesus and Mary Chain (who Reznor once opened for on Landsdowne Street when Nine Inch Nails was still a one-man wrecking crew) is along for the ride. Since scoring a spot at the inaugural Lollapalooza (performing outdoors in daylight no less), the razor-sharp Reznor always plays to kill and like it’s his last night on Earth. For those who have never seen NINs in concert, one can expect a bone-crunching, flesh-pounding and intensely riveting set of Sisyphean symphonies, nihilistic (de)compositions and plenty of (spoiled) food for thought for the wretched to devour. For those already familiar with the Marquis de Sade of modern rock, expect Reznor to take you closer to God.

Talk, Talk, Talk

The Psychedelic Furs, Oct. 21, Cabot Theatre, Beverly.

It seems like only yesterday when The Psychedelic Furs (with openers the Divinyls) played the now defunct E. M. Loew’s Theatre in Worcester. Well, it was actually April 21, 1983, and guess what? Charismatic new wave crooner Richard Butler and his beloved Psych Furs (including his kid brother, Tim Butler, on bass) are making the rounds again. With an arsenal of new wave hits (including “Love My Way,” “Heaven,” “The Ghost in You,” “Heartbreak Beat” and, of course, “Pretty in Pink”), the Psychedelic Furs were great in their highwire day. The big question is will fickle fans in the 21st century still love their way forever now.